A Morning Respite

I woke up early this morning, well before 6. It's a bit earlier than my normal wake up time. Usually, I close my eyes and slip back into my dream world for another short trip into my imagination, but today I got dressed and took a walk around the block. The sun was less than an hour away from rising, so I had no problems seeing as I walked. Due to a slight haze, only a couple stars were visible in the sky. Traffic could be heard in the valley below me but after a couple minutes, the songs of the birds overtook it.

    The street was empty, no cars were “warming up” and no one was walking their dogs. It was only me and the birds. Returning to the house, I sat on a chair on the front porch and watched as Arcturus slipped between the limbs of a tree as it neared the western horizon. Lights on neighbors' houses turned on and off and the birds continued to chirp, heard but not seen. I sat and watched the sky as it brightened, and the last stars disappeared from view.

    I went into the house, back to where the radio was broadcasting noise about shootings, accidents and the weather to come. I brewed some coffee and went back outside to the quiet, the calm and the peacefulness. I sat down with a copy of The Sun magazine and read a story. While I read, robins chased each other around the yard. Woodpeckers rapped on tree trunks and dead limbs. The coffee smelled good and tasted even better. Two robins flew within inches of my leg as they played.

    Slowly the sun neared the edge of the hillside and colors returned to the edges. My morning respite was starting to turn into my Saturday. I took another sip of coffee and then headed back into the house, ready to continue with my day.

A Good Day

 The alarm went off earlier than usual. It was Friday the thirteenth and Ann Marie and I were going out for an early morning ride. I walked over to the front door and took a look outside. The bright star Spica could be seen peeking through the branches of the tree across the street.

    Knowing that an ISS (International Space Station) pass was going to be happening soon, I got dressed to go outside to watch it. Due within a couple minutes, I returned to the door only to see it appear above the house across the street. I was able to watch it without even leaving the house! Now that is the way to observe on cold days!

    After eating breakfast, I went to pick up Ann Marie. Going out to the car I noticed the thin crescent moon hovering above another neighbor’s house. Four days away from new, it was only 16% illuminated. I think that crescent moons are so much nicer to see than full moons, since they are harder to find and we see them less often. Seeing one without searching for it makes it even more special. What a great way to start our journey!

    We had some rough plans to head towards Apollo and the Kiskiminetas River. Our plans are always open to change. We had some geocaches to find and hopefully we would also find a coffee shop to refill our car cups. The first stop of the day was a visit to our favorite bakery, Stocklein’s. This bakery, originally opened in East Liberty back in the 1930’s, was relocated to its present location, Penn Hills in 2009. We like it because of how everything there tastes like the baked goods from our childhoods.

    Our first geocache was an interesting find. It was hidden inside an upright post. A piece of cord hung inside it, wrapped around a bolt. It took us a couple minutes to figure out how to get the cache. We had to pull on one side until the cache was raised up to where we could grasp it. We found most of the caches, but a couple were inaccessible because of frozen piles of snow.

    While driving we passed a small coffee shop and promptly turned around to check it out. At Bear Roots, (on rt.66) the woman behind the counter put a fresh pot of dark coffee on for us. While we waited we looked around the shop and watched as cookies were made being in the back. Along with our coffees we got a couple cookies to take along with us. They were desert later in the evening. Our bill came to $13 which was appropriate for Friday the 13^th!

    We drove along some nice back roads, a couple paved only with gravel. They were covered with snow and ice but we had no problems traversing them. We drove through woods and fields and in places we were on top of hills, giving us nice views into the snow covered valleys below. We passed cemeteries both large and small, along with Churches and old cabins.

    When we reached Cochran Mills we turned back. At one time there was a community here. The first mill in Burrell Township was built here in 1800. Before long more buildings joined it along with housing for the workers and a small settlement evolved.

    One of the residents of the town was Elizabeth Jane Cochrane who later became well known as she wrote under the name of Nellie Bly. In 1887, she wrote about the injustices and evils of the Blackwell Island Lunatic Asylum by going into the asylum under cover as a patient. She also wrote about her journey around the world, challenging Jules Verne’s story, Around the World in Eighty Days. She accomplished the trip in 72 days.

    The town was demolished in the 1930’s. Supposedly there are still foundation ruins of some of the buildings along Crooked Creek. We didn’t attempt to find them, preferring to stay in the car rather than hiking through the snow, perhaps we will do it another time.

    Returning towards home, we stopped at the Pittsburgh Mills to meet our friends Frank and Kelle for lunch. After a filling meal we all went and found a couple more caches hidden around the mall area. Then we returned home.

    As far as Friday the 13^th’s go, this was a good one. Really though, I can’t remember any Friday the 13^th that was bad. It is just a number; of course it’s one with a bad reputation. It’s sort of like how the full moon is supposed to cause more crimes. I figure that every day will be good if you look for all the good things in it. By concentrating on the better things in our days, they tend to stay productive and worthwhile. Always keep looking for the positive and hopefully our days will all turn out well.

    Two of my favorite words are; triskaidekaphobia (meaning the fear of the number 13) and triskaidekaphilia (meaning the love of the number 13).  In case you’re wondering when the next Friday the 13^th will be, it will be next month and before the year is over there will be another one in November!

Chances are, they'll be good days!

A Morning Walk

 The streets were dark and the streetlights only provided small pools of illumination onto the sidewalks. The road tapered off into the distance where tall buildings stood. Most of the lights in the buildings were off, the morning shifts having not yet arrived.

    A shadowy figure stands near a parking kiosk, waiting for a ride possibly. Parking the car, I cross the street with no real need to look either way, cars and trucks are rare at this time of the morning. I glance over my shoulder to make sure the shadow isn’t following me or going towards my car, but it isn’t really necessary.

    The one open business, a coffee shop, has just opened a few minutes ago. Already there are 3 customers inside. Two are leaning over a tall table, steaming coffee under their noses, deep in conversation. The other, is standing at the counter waiting for his order, talking to the barista. I am quickly taken care of and with my capped cup of coffee in hand, I start my walk.

    The sidewalks which will be crowded in a few hours are now deserted. Empty milk cartons sit against the buildings, seats for panhandlers later in the day. Restaurant chairs and tables sit empty. Lights in the stores are off, looking at the windows reveal only reflections of the outside world.

    A couple trucks sit in the slow lane, their back doors open to reveal the boxes of foods and goods waiting to be unloaded. A dark figure moves around in one of them, filling a pallet with items that will be sold later in the day. The streets are deserted, only an occasional car passes by. A couple bicyclists slip past soundlessly, only the lights they are wearing giving their passage away. The sidewalks are empty except for me.

    On a side street a car sits in front of a vape shop, or possibly the massage parlor upstairs. The car sits empty, crossing the street I don’t go close enough to see if the engine is running.

    The alleys are dark, filled with shadows. Dumpsters are mere shapes, filled with yesterdays trash, some with their lids propped up from the excess refuge. The parking lots are empty and the only sounds are from the infrequent passing car or truck. A man walks past, going to an unmarked door and knocks. It is opened and the bright lights of a work space flood the sidewalk and then the door closes and darkness returns.

    Returning to the car is quiet and uneventful. The sky is slowly brightening; hanging above the hills the half-moon is looking bright against the blue sky. All the stars and planets have disappeared. More lights have been turned on in the city.

    It is almost time for the morning train, so I stop to watch it pass. Setting up my tripod and camera, a man stops to ask what I’m doing. This is the first person I’ve talked with since my visit to the coffee shop. The whistle sounds and the light by the station brightens and then slowly gets larger. Within a minute, the train has passed me and is on its way across the state. Now it is only a memory, a memory in my mind, and on a chip inside my camera.

    The sky continues to brighten, and I turn the car towards home. There are chores to be done, and the rest of the day needs to play out. My walk through the Strip was invigorating; I got some steps in, a little exercise and a couple pictures. The streets of the Strip District almost always provide interesting visits, whether the stores are open or not, whether people are there or not. But when it is a dark morning, the streets deserted, and the stores all closed, it tends to be just a little more exciting!

Decisions, Decisions

 Watching the steam coming off my freshly brewed coffee and looking at the yellow and brown leaves outside of the window makes me want to stay right where I am. I have no gumption this morning to get up and do my morning dishes. I don’t want to collect the trash from my wastepaper baskets. I don’t want to go to the store to get needed items. Today, I am quite happy to sit here and watch the rain bounce off the leaves. The coffee smells too good to leave it before it cools.

    There are lots of chores I could do with Thanksgiving just a day or two away. But the view through the window keeps calling me back. It has been lightly raining for most of the night. The sounds of it helped me achieve another good night’s sleep. It would’ve been better if the windows had been open but those days have passed, the furnace is on now. As my father used to say, “We aren’t paying to heat Glenshaw!” It also might have been better if there had been a thunder storm, but I’m happy this morning, beggars can’t be choosers. Some say that the excessive amounts of negative ions caused by rain and storms help us to relax and to sleep better. I’ve always belived that, rain always helps me sleep.

    For the time being, the smell of the coffee and the relaxing view of the dancing leaves is enough to keep me relaxed. Occasionally a dark leaf will fall making me think that a bird has flown by. But the birds are elsewhere this morning. The rain is keeping them hidden from me, but they’ll be back once the bird feeders are hung up. That’s another chore for another day.

    The puddles in the yard reflect the tree limbs above them, these perfect images are disturbed as the rings from the rain drops distort the picture. Most of my views are straight out the window, 20 feet off the ground. The puddles are mostly unseen.

    The rain helps quiet the sounds of the morning. It blocks engine noises and horns. The morning trash pick-ups at the business’s below my home aren’t quite as noticeable, if heard at all. The sky is dark; there was no colorful brightening along the horizon this morning. The leaves continue doing their dance and I take another sip of my coffee and contemplate. Should I pick up a book and get lost in it or strike another chore off my list?

    Maybe I’ll just refresh my cup and think about it for awhile!

Dodging Raindrops

 Sitting at home and waiting for body parts to heal is never fun. In fact it can be down-right boring.  Ann Marie and I are both favoring different parts of our bodies right now, trying our best not to antagonize anything and make it worse.

    We decided to break things up a bit and take a small road trip. We’d do a couple geocaches, stop for a cup of coffee at a favorite coffee shop and then head home. We wouldn’t go far and we’d limit our activities. Tuesday looked like the day for it, our schedules were both clear.

    On the road, we passed the new location of our favorite farm store. Pulling in we found out that it was their second day open. (Their official opening will be on Wednesday) Harvest Valley Farms is where we go for fresh veggies and fruits. They also carry meats from local butchers and best of all, their fresh baked pies and baked goods are delicious! Their new location has a large area for plants, along with a greenhouse. They had herbs, flowers and tomatoes to name just a few. The humid smell of the plants growing in the greenhouse started us thinking about our own gardens, bringing back the urge to dig our hands into the soil.

    We did some geocaches located on some back roads we hadn’t been on before. One of the caches we found was my 2500^th find! The best cache we did was inside a small local “free” library. The cache itself was a hollowed out book. How cool! A couple of them were beside a small stream, running fast with dirty brown water from the recent rains. We were dodging rain during the whole trip, dark clouds and rain one minute and then sunshine and brilliant colors the next.

    We stopped for coffee and spent some time watching the customers come and go. It was a never-ending parade of people. There were different styles of dress, different types of drinks and snacks and also, different speeds. Some were in and out in a minute or two while others, in a more leisurely mood, stopped to talk with friends. Some came in to work. Laptops and paperwork were set up on their tables. The smell of fresh coffee hung heavy in the air mixing nicely with an undercurrent of conversation. It is a very comfortable place, and we never tire of it. The time always passes quickly.

    We did a one more cache after we left. Having not planned on doing it, I never wrote down the co-ordinates or entered them in the GPS. I knew where it was located and since we were only a “few” miles away, we went over to see if we could find it. From reading the cache description, I knew it was hanging on a gate. The problem was finding the gate; it was lying in the woods, not far from the gateposts. After 3 or 4 minutes, we had found it! I always get a kick out of finding a cache without using the GPS. Some caches are extremely obvious hides and are easy to find while others require a bit of searching. This was one of the latter.

    We also made a quick stop at the Winfield Furnace involving another “short” detour but well worth it. The rain we had been driving in and out of had started up again. The furnace and the pathway leading to it were surrounded with flowering trees and their scent was overpowering. If only it could be bottled! It was heady and made me forget about the rain. I didn’t care that my camera and shoes were getting wet. The combination of rain and flowers carried me away. These smells are the things that dreams are made of, the smells I look forward to each year, the smells of springtime.

    It was only 5 miles away home when we ran into our first road block. We had passed hundreds of uprooted trees, remnants of last Tuesdays storms. Huge trunks lay on their sides and wide lateral roots stood high on edge, chain sawed ends faced roadways and driveways, unruly piles of limbs sat adjacent to the pavement, all of them cleared from the roads to allow passage. We were almost most home when we finally got caught, a ¼ mile from the last turn and we came across a wooden horse with a “road closed” sign on it. Tire tracks in the edges of the yards showed that we weren’t the first to have to turn around. A detour of about a mile and we were back on our route.

    We were both glad to be home. We both handled the drive with only minimal discomfort. The wonderful smells of the flowers, shrubs and trees made the ride enjoyable and the colors of the new foliage, dampened by the rain and lit by the sun peeking through dark clouds gave each turn in the road another view of Mother Nature’s handiwork! It turned out to be a great day for a ride, our boredom was quickly forgotten.

Christmas Spirit in the Strip

 

For years now, Ann Marie and I have been going to the Strip District on Christmas Eve. It is always a fun jaunt into a world of excitement, drama, fun, families and friends.

    Our agenda is rather simple, we park and then walk from one end of the Strip to the other, enjoying the ambiance of the last day of shopping before Christmas. We stop and get something to snack on at Enrico Biscotti Company and then go around the corner to get a cup of coffee at La Prima Espresso. Then we sit down, if we can find a table, and people watch.

    Very rarely was anyone upset, the faces were all smiling and the kids were soaking the in the excitement, creating memories for their futures. People were overloaded with bundles of food in their arms, sticks of pepperoni hanging out of boxes and bags of presents yet to be wrapped. The smells of the products inside the stores drifted out to the sidewalks, attempting to entice us to stop in. People were lined up outside the stores and restaurants, patiently waiting their turn. 

    There were dog walkers and people standing on the edges with cups, hoping for a donation or two. People were lined up at the food vendors and eating their snacks as they went towards their next stop. Groups wore similar hats, perhaps to keep track of each other? Ugly sweaters could be seen underneath jackets and red and green seem to be the predominant colors.

    Even though the vendors and counter-people were harried and over worked, they were all happy and in a festive mood. The line at La Prima Espresso Company was out the door but the wait is always worth it. The shop smelled like a coffee shop should! The coffee was rich and strong and it went perfectly with our sweets from around the corner. Today it was almond biscotti, perfectly baked and as expected, delicious!

    The people we shared the sidewalk with were having espresso, cappuccino and hot chocolate. Boxes of pizza sat on some tables and others had bags of goodies like ours, sitting beside their steaming cups of coffee.

    We sat right beside the door and often we couldn’t see past the line of people waiting to get their orders filled. They stood in groups and talked amongst each other, discussing their future plans or telling what has happened since they saw each other last. There were hugs and loud exclamations when acquaintances saw each other, their joy spreading out among the others sitting and standing near-by. We listened to other's conversations, it wasn’t snooping, it was unavoidable. The problems of the world weren’t a topic to be discussed this morning; it was all about happiness and the upcoming holidays.

    Fashion was a big thing in our observations. The different styles and colors are always fun to see and to discuss. Hats and hoodies, shorts, sweatshirts and dress jackets, boots, tennis shoes and sandals, the variety was astounding. We all have our own “type” of dress and it is always fun to see other styles on display.

    As the clock neared 11 and our coffee cups emptied, we got up and continued our walk. We stopped in the S & D Polish Deli and got some Jalowcowa, or Juniper Berry Kielbasa, and a couple meat sticks. We talked about when the store first opened and the owner’s children helped to man the counters, another pleasant memory from years gone by.  

    Driving back towards home we continued watching the people on the streets as we passed by. An occasional upset driver would lean on their horns, impatient with the waits but everyone else was happy, at least that is the way they looked to us, and that is the way we want to remember them. The world looked beautiful through our eyes, today our problems were forgotten and the more important things have taken the stage, love, family and happiness!

    Merry Christmas,

Happy Hanukah,

Happy Holiday

and Happy New Year!!!

An Early Sunday Morning

 Steam was rising from my coffee cup. Its dark liquid was invigorating me and keeping my hands warm as I stood outside in the early morning. The trees were just dark shapes and the sky was still attempting to brighten up. The moon cast a shadow behind me into the yard. Bright stars were still visible though they were slowly disappearing. The air was cool and refreshing, it smelled clean and fresh. There was a slight smell of dried leaves in it. It was the smell of fall and the approach of winter.

    The whirr of a furnace lent a bit of a background noise along with the soft murmuring of cars in the distance. The noises were barely noticeable in the pre-dawn.

    Coming out of the trees in the west a bright spot appeared. It wasn’t an airplane; it was a satellite with three human beings in it! Their sunrise had already happened. It was the sun shining off the surface of the ship that made it visible. This sunrise was one of many sunrises the astronauts on board see every day. It takes their space station about an hour and a half to circle the earth, so their day is filled with sunrises and sunsets.

    I watched as the space station drifted between the Moon and the planet Jupiter. Stars were getting fainter and disappearing as I watched. Unlike the stars the satellite got brighter as it moved towards the east and the approaching sun. I watched as it slipped between some trees and finally disappeared into the orange tinged horizon.

    Returning inside, I rinsed out my mug and finished my preparations for Church. Going out to the car, the trees had gone from black to a combination of dull oranges and yellows. The sky was now pale blue with a peach colored horizon. Sitting in the car as it warmed up I watched as the trees brightened, preparing for the burst of beauty that would occur when the sun first hits them and reveals their true fall colors.

    The shadows from the moon were gone and depth of the blue in the sky was increasing as I drove up the hill to Church. Sitting in the pew, the first bright beams of the newly risen sun hit the wall above the altar, and I knew that my trees at home were glowing!  I knew it was going to be a wonderful day. I returned my thoughts to the Mass and gave thanks for all the wonderful things I've been given. What a great way to start a day!

Rainy Day

Sitting in a small coffee shop, I look out of the window and watch as the traffic goes by. Thinking as the cars speed by, it seemed as if I’ve been doing this a lot, staring out the window.  So much of the day has spent doing this as compared to going outside and breathing in the fresh air. The weather tends to enforce this, the driving rain just isn’t inviting.

    It is another typical grey Pittsburgh day. The promise of rain came true, it has arrived. “Dismal” could be used to describe the day. There are no bright colors, nothing shines. Even the hoods and sides of the cars appeared muted.

    It is hard to be optimistic on days such as this. The chores around the house had been finished, a prescription still needs to be picked up at the local pharmacy and after that, the days plans will be completed.

    A fresh urn of coffee is being brewed, that is something worth looking forward to! A donut sits in a brown paper bag on the table. Decisions, decisions, should I wait for the coffee or just dig in, that is the question. I chose to wait for the coffee and continue to stare out the window and think.

    Looking at the uninspiring parking lot, the rain increases to a downpour. Going out to the car will involve getting drenched. The view from the window is a perfect spot to wait it out. Especially since a fresh cup of coffee is now in my hand.

    I had the idea that I would go out in search for some photos. A grey day didn’t mean that there wasn’t anything worth taking a picture of. The opportunities are endless no matter what the weather might present.

    Halfway through my cup of coffee the rain tapers off a bit, enough that I can make the “run” to the car. Back on the road, people in a hurry speed past me, their tires splashing my windshield and obscuring my view. The rains intensified again as I slowly make my way towards my pharmacy and then my nice, dry house.

    Thinking about photography, I realized that the only way I’d get any pictures today would involve getting very wet in the process. Still…the shots are always there, constantly changing as the day progresses and the weather changes. They are there; I just have to SEE them, I just have to get a little wet.

    The rain tapers off a bit so I take a short drive to a favored spot. Wildlife occasionally show themselves here, perhaps something will today.

    The rain has slowed to a mist, so I get out and take a short walk. I take a few pictures but nothing excites me. The rain increases again and I return to the car with nothing of importance stored in the camera.

    Then, it’s back to the quiet solitude of my home. A fresh cup of home brewed coffee, a partially read book to read and then, maybe a few more minutes of staring out the window…thinking about the pictures I could’ve gotten.

The Christmas Eve Cruise- 2020

 

The Christmas Eve Cruise-2020

                The weather forecast was rather ominous; rain most of the day and then dropping temperatures leading into snowfall. The weather gurus were warning about travel problems and slippery roads. The bad conditions were due to start around 7 in the morning.

                Ann Marie and I had been thinking about taking a drive. Even though it might be a miserable day, we thought it would be nice to get out of the house for awhile and take a cruise in the car. We could do that and still remain “safe”. We decided to head north to the town of Franklin.

                The morning dawned with rain falling. The roads were wet but the temperatures were in the mid-40’s. The weather prognosticators had pushed the freezing temperatures and snow squalls back so things looked good for a drive. We were on the road by 9:30.

                In the second county we visited, Butler, we stopped to pick up a couple cups of coffee because we all know that a long drive always goes better with some hot coffee! The coffee was weak, I think there might have been some caffeine in it but I’m not really sure. It was served in a coffee cup so it must’ve been coffee...it was hot and it had a slight taste of coffee so I’m pretty sure that is what it was. (sigh)

                We stopped alongside the road about 8-10 miles out of Franklin to try and locate a Heron rookery. (also called a Heronry)  The last time we had been here it had been snowing, the road was covered and we turned around before we reached Franklin. We pulled over to try and find the tree covered with nests but we couldn’t see any more than 10-20 feet. Everything beyond was white. We didn’t stay long.

This year we were able to locate it. About 100 yards away from the road it almost looked as if the tree had flower blossoms on it. Dark objects sat near the ends of the limbs. With the binoculars we could see that they were bunches of sticks, nests hanging on the branches. There were no herons around. Most herons migrate to warmer climates during the winter. The tree has been their northern home for many years. Some of the older nests can be as large as four feet across and just as deep.

                After finding the rookery we continued into Franklin. The rain let up a bit giving us the opportunity to walk around the main part of town.

 We window shopped and got a couple cups of REAL coffee for the trip back. We had packed a couple sandwiches and ate them in the car. (Ham and cheese on 7 grain sour dough bread) We took Rt. 322 over to Brookville driving through Clarion on the way. A quick stop alongside the Clarion River to admire the fog gave us another chance to stretch our legs. The rain sent us back to the car quickly. In Brookville, we drove through the center of town but the rain kept us in the car.

Interestingly enough, Brookville is the county seat of Jefferson County. Franklin is the county seat of Venango County and Clarion is the county seat of Clarion County and to round it out, Butler is the county seat of Butler County. Our journey took us past Kittanning, the county seat of Armstrong County but we didn’t actually drive through it. We should have driven through Pittsburgh to add Allegheny County to the “County Seat” list. In all we passed through six counties on our journey.

                We nearly ran out of gas near Freeport. We had been watching the gas prices and the stations nearest to home were the cheapest. I just happened to look at the gas gauge and saw we had about 20 miles of gas left in the tank. A stop at the next gas station fixed that problem. Home was about 25 minutes away. We got back home around 3:30, the temperatures were still in the 40’s. The rain had increased but we were still snow free. We had traveled about 206 miles.

                It was five or six hours of watching the Pennsylvania scenery slip past our windows. The troubles of the world were left behind, just Ann Marie and me, warm and dry enjoying each other’s company. Listening to Christmas songs on the radio and sometimes singing along with em. What a nice way to spend Christmas Eve!